Zero down mortgages preserved in new rule

Maybe a victory for prospective homeowners, but certainly a victory for anyone dependent upon a speedy housing market, the new proposal for the Qualified Residential Mortgage rule (QRM) is quite a bit less-restrictive than the original version.

The new standard would allow a no downpayment option similar to that allowed by the CFPB - that rule protects banks from being sued by mortgage investors on zero-down loans as long as the borrower's debt to income ratio is less than 43%.

The new plan also requires banks to hold onto a slice of mortgages (for those with less than 20% down) when debt/income is above 43% as opposed to 36% in the initial proposal.

The agencies will await public comment before a vote on the final rule.